ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ye gods

idiom
Meaning

Used to express surprise or incredulity.


Origin

disputed origin

Seventeenth-century British variant of oh my God, probably intended to avoid blasphemy. Compare Danish I guder.

Examples
SIMPLE

Ye gods, that is a huge spider.

CONTEXTUAL

Ye gods, I cannot believe you actually finished that entire project in one night.

COMPLEX

Ye gods, the sheer scale of the destruction left behind by the storm was truly difficult to comprehend.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bow down before the porcelain god

    Synonym of worship the porcelain god (“to vomit into a toilet bowl”).

  2. 02

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

  3. 03

    God forbid

    indicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable

  4. 04

    God forfend

    Don't let it be.

  5. 05

    God is in the detail

    Expresses the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.

  6. 06

    god that failed

    A notable let-down or flop; a concept, product, or person that has failed to live up to very high expectations.

  7. 07

    God's eye

    A decorative diamond-shaped item woven from yarn, associated with Mexican and Central and South American Native American peoples.

  8. 08

    God's gift

    Said of someone with an inflated sense of self-importance, or (occasionally) something that is overvalued.

Last updated April 17, 2026